First up and most importantly – Happy Birthday for the 6th, Mama Moomah! Hope your day was a blast. Your song this year is The Birthday Song by Halla & Isaiah Jayy.
In other news, I’m back at work after a 16 day break and feeling fab! I saw The Odyssey, immersed myself in the Cartier Collection at the NGV (if you’re going, buy the audio guide and cut yourself off from everyone around you. It’s only $7. Take your time and let this truly lovely English voice transport you into the Cartier brothers’ world and explain the inspiration behind the exquisite jewellery before you. Also, when you stop to admire the Patiala Necklace, look to the right and you’ll see a pair of elegant, flawless earrings – blink and you’ll miss them – they’re STUNNING. I’ll always be an earrings girlie, first and foremost!), uh, I bought a pair of aquamarine & diamond earrings at auction, I spent time with my dogs and the wild birds in my garden and walked in the rain and napped and listened to music or podcasts and caught up with friends and laughed and didn’t open my laptop and watched the end of The Bear and started watching Breaking Bad.
Breaking Fucking Bad.
One of my work colleagues kept telling me that I HAD to watch Breaking Bad. I told her that I’d tried to watch it back in the day, but I so disliked Walt from the start that I just… couldn’t. The guy was an arsehole from the very first episode, so why waste my time? She told me that if I kept watching, it’d get better. I argued that who keeps watching to see if something gets better? But then I remembered that I’d felt that way about The Bear. I’d stopped watching it after the first episode because it wasn’t for me, but a good friend told me that once you get through the first 3 episodes, it’s actually quite good, and I had also argued with her, “who keeps watching on the off chance that something gets better?” But she was right. The Bear ended up becoming one of my favourite TV shows ever! Maybe my work colleague would be right too.
So on my break, I started watching Breaking Bad. My initial concerns were justified – Walt is a giant arsehole. A huge dick from the very first episode! I think I was supposed to feel some form of compassion or empathy for him at the beginning? But I didn’t. I thoroughly despise the character and his entire family. And it doesn’t get better – it gets worse. I kept watching, waiting for the moment I’d “love it!”which still hasn’t happened. I feel for Jesse and, well, love Saul – that character is everything – but I don’t love the show. I’ll see it through (I’m about midway through S4 now), but if it wasn’t for Jesse and Saul there’d be no one worth the time it takes to click the remote. Every time Walt is on screen, I’m willing him to die – if the cancer doesn’t get him, perhaps a stray bullet will. I’m also finding it very predictable, like I’m finishing characters’ sentences, but that could be because I’m old & I’ve seen everything and this isn’t really anything new. At least now when folks act all shocked and tell me that I “must watch Friends!”, I can just smile and say nah… tried that already. I’ll update you on my feelings for Breaking Bad once I’ve finished it.
Oh, and Chas is back from his break so I enjoyed PEP this morning. It’s still my favourite podcast, although Stewdlebug is a very close second with The Weekly Show. Jon Stewart sustained me during Chas’ absence. For a while there I was dithering between the two as to which I enjoyed more, but then a few months back Stewdlebug had two really fucking dark shows one week after the other, like depressingly dark, so the choice was made for me. Yes, I’m a coward! Chas never leaves me feeling like the world is spiralling into the void and our demise is imminent.
Stewdlebug’s interview with Fetterman was interesting. Once or twice I thought I understood what the cat was trying to say, although saying it badly, and Jon gave him every chance to explain himself and his fucking weird “line in the sand” rule, even reframing questions to help the cat out, but ultimately Fetterman came across as a deeply stupid man. I know people who have had a stroke and yes, it can change someone’s personality, but does it change their ideology? Has he always seen the world in such black and white terms? Scary that he was elected if he has.
Okay, I’m off to watch a little more Breaking Fucking Bad. Please, TV gods, let Saul be in this episode!
